As a fan of Dirty Realist fiction, the themes of Death Of A Salesman align perfectly with what I look for in a narrative. Arthur Miller’s award-winning two-act tragedy reflects upon the crushing normalcy and inadequacies of daily American life in the post-war era, providing a grimly realistic reflection on the working man. This play not only captures the death of the eponymous salesman, but also the figurative death of the American Dream.
The plot follows Willy Loman (Nate Wintraub), a senior salesman who is coming to the end of his career and slowly losing grip on reality along the way. Exhausted with life on the road, Willy is plagued by flashbacks and memories, which allow the audience to piece the plot together alongside the Lomans. Willy Loman’s mental state is significantly worsened by the presence of Biff Loman (Ollie Gillam), his son and former football golden child, and by their ensuing conflict throughout the performance.
The play centres on the conflict between Willy and Biff, with their relationship unravelling as both grapple with the disappointment of not living up to their own ‘set path’. Death of a Salesman leaves both Willy’s wife, Linda (Hope Healy), and his other son, Happy (Ezana Betru), to pick up the pieces, highlighting the all-consuming nature of family conflict and the selfishness that comes with such intense retrospection. Throughout the play, it becomes an evident and gutting realisation that, for the Salesman, “the only thing you’ve got in this world is what you can sell.”
Tiptoe Productions’ staging of Death of a Salesman grabbed me more than any other production I’ve recently seen at The Pilch, but it was hard to discern whether this was due to the quality of the story, rather than to any notable input from the production company. This production seemed wholly concerned with representing Death of a Salesman as a concept, sticking to the letter of the play in mood and direction with such undying faithfulness that it clamped down on possible creative liberties which could have enriched this as a ‘student adaptation’ of Death of A Salesman. Whilst overall a competent and entertaining interpretation that at times had me transfixed, it often felt as if the director was too dead set on remaining loyal to the source material. This tendency towards excessive faithfulness smacks of the nervousness of a fledgling production company; however, as Tiptoe Productions goes on to stage more plays, I am sure that they will find the courage to make more substantial innovations.
All of the actors gave a strong performance, with their accent work being particularly competent and convincing. Ezana Betru’s performance as Happy Loman stuck out to me. Betru played Loman as a particularly likeable force within the production, balancing the sleaze of the character with the slight under-confidence that comes with living in the shadow of Biff Loman.
Nate Wintraub’s performance as the titular salesman, Willy Loman, was emotive and raw, particularly shining through in the flashback scenes. Wintraub’s take on Willy as an all-American dad was stellar, capturing the optimistic naivety of navigating the expectations of family life as a rough and ready family man. The contrast between the Willy of the flashbacks and the Willy of the current day, a shadow of his former self, brought home the tragedy of loss and failing expectations. One of the most striking performances was that of Tristan Hood as Uncle Ben, an ominous and looming spectre throughout the play, who embodied the lurking inadequacies that plague Willy until the plot’s grim conclusion.
The set design was charmingly minimalist, providing a fittingly ominous slow burn of an atmosphere throughout, driving home the fact that Willy is nearing the end of his life. As a personal fan of moody minimalism, the set design was a key factor in my enjoyment of this production. The set design was versatile, with costuming and layout really putting across to the audience that the Lomans are just a normal family. The lighting was masterfully aware of the mood. With spotlights and shadows providing a stark and chilling significance to Ben’s appearances throughout, and highlighting moments of personal anguish.
The sound design, on the other hand, could have been a little better, with the music often far too loud during seminal scenes. The mixing of the sound was sometimes jarring, with the volume of the music distracting me from the moments when I should have been most engrossed in the drama. This was especially the case during the suicide scene, where the sound production added a semi-slapstick element to a crucial moment that the play had been building up to for the whole time.
Overall, the performance was a good rendition of an established and well-known play, which I’d recommend as a good bit of heavy viewing for the night. As previously mentioned, Tiptoe Productions’ take on Death of a Salesman was one of the most enjoyable acts I’ve seen at the Pilch recently. The cast and crew put on a by-the-book and compelling interpretation of a classic work, with all of the actors being very ambitious in their approaches to the characters. Tiptoe Productions seems to be an extremely promising new production company, which I will be keeping a keen eye on over the coming terms.
[Death of a Salesman is running at the Michael Pilch Studio, 14-17 May]